It seems that a lot of military imposters exposed on the ANZMI website are pursuing their one moment of glory in their lifetime. Something to impress their immediate family, fiancées, close friends and the wider community in general.

Alex Rysdale, born about 1951 of Tahmoor (near Picton) NSW, is typical of this type of imposter.

Rysdale is a disgrace and an embarrassment to the veteran community. He should hang his head in shame. He is a low life individual who has stolen the valour of all those brave men, who fought and died in the Vietnam War. He insinuates that he was a member of Special Forces, "in a Squad of six."

He is an outright liar without honour or integrity.

Rysdale gave an in-depth interview to an unsuspecting Journalist from the Wollondilly Advertiser, about his heroic deeds as a Special Forces operative in the Australian Army, whilst he was fighting in the jungles of South Vietnam in 1969.

The below story was published on the 6 November, 2017 in that newspaper and also in the Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser, shortly after.

Everything stated by Rysdale that appears in bold italics in this article is a lie. He has never served.

Tahmoor's Alex Rysdale is a member of the Picton Anzac Day Committee but wants nothing to do with the government or RSLs because of the way veterans were treated after the Vietnam War. Picture: Chris Lane

I did become an animal.” Tahmoor’s Alex Rysdale continues to live with the nightmares and horrors of fighting in the Vietnam War. At 18 years old he enlisted in the Australian armed forces and was sent to Vietnam in 1969.“I was a soldier,” he said. “I fought my way through the war both physically and mentally.” Mr Rysdale still struggles with what war made him do.“You change,” he said. “You become an animal. You do things that are worse than anything an animal can do. “The hardest part is when I came back into the world and nobody cared. “We didn’t have the camaraderie in the outside world. “The hard part is remembering. I don’t want to remember and I keep away from the triggers.” Mr Rysdale went into the army after completing his apprenticeship as a typewriter mechanic. In 1969 he started his basic training and was named the cadet of the year. He trained in Western Australia and Queensland before being sent to Vietnam.

“Our squad went on patrols, looked for tunnel networks and cleared them out,” the veteran said. “We were called to hunt down a sniper and take him out. “We were to spot the enemy’s troop movements. Our squad of six would come up against 200 North Vietnamese Army troops and we would have to fight our way out.”

Mr Rysdale recalls one particular time when he thought he would die.“We were asleep in a shallow grave and were covered in leaves to hide ourselves,” he said. “There was a trail 10 metres to the left. I could hear them because the ground was vibrating. “Three hundred North Vietnamese Army troops walked past us. “Somehow we weren’t spotted.”

Alex Rysdale still lives with the scars from his service. Picture: Chris Lane

Mr Rysdale was evacuated from Vietnam in 1970. “I was shot and blown up at the same time,” he said. “I was hiding behind a tree when we were out on patrol looking for troop movements. “Three in our squad were killed.” Mr Rysdale was taken to Germany then to Sydney to the Concord Repatriation Hospital.“After I got out of hospital I was walking through the city and there was a construction site,” he said. “A worker was using a jackhammer and I hit the ground and started screaming like a lunatic. “Someone kicked me and told me to go to a shelter because he thought I was drunk. “People will never understand what we went through.”

Mr Rysdale suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and said he can “just snap” at times.“I wake up screaming at night.” he said. “Doctors can put a name on it but I think the nightmares are my own shame about what I did over there.” Mr Rysdale said he has never really talked about his time during the Vietnam War. The way he was treated after the war was why he never wanted anything to do with Returned Service Leagues or the government.“I remember how badly we were treated by people back home,” he said. “One time I was on rest and recuperation and I was so excited to have a home cooked meal by mum and get hugs and kisses from my family. “As soon as I got off the plane I had eggs and tomatoes thrown at me and I was called a baby killer. “I turned straight around and flew back to Bangkok. “To this day I have never heard one of the idiots put their hand up and say they were really sorry. “Our government didn’t recognise Vietnam as a war and that meant the guys were not given the rights and recognition they deserved for a long time.”

A wreath laid at the centenary ceremony during Remembrance Day at Picton Memorial Park. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

Mr Rysdale is the last member of his squad and was very close with his fellow soldiers.“I loved those blokes,” he said. “We didn’t see each other often but I still thought about them. “During the war we had so much fun as a whole group because we were a tight knit unit of six guys. “So when only three of us came back with scars from being mentally wounded and abused, it didn’t seem right to have fun because it wasn’t with everybody in the group. “If we would catch up at a funeral then we would buy six beers. One beer each for guys who didn’t come back and one for us. “I think that was a fitting way to remember them.”

Mr Rysdale said he did not go to Remembrance Day or Anzac Day ceremonies until last year when he was asked to lay a wreath. He is a member of the Picton Anzac Day Committee and helps man fundraising stalls, sets up for the ceremonies and is a part of the committee’s discussions but otherwise does not want to attend the ceremonies.

Mr Rysdale does however have a lot of admiration for the committee and what they have created in the Picton Memorial Park.“Personally I think (name deleted) should be knighted for his hard work, dedication and the time he has put into helping veterans and the committee,” he said. (End of Article) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rysdale is a grandstander. We wonder what he has told his immediate family and brand new fiancée. We know that he told the Committee of the Picton Anzac Day Committee (PADC) that he was a Vietnam Veteran. With that background, he was accepted immediately as a committee member. When asked why he never wore his Vietnam medals on Anzac Days, he replied to the Committee “that the originals were mounted in a frame on his wall at home and that he did not have a set of replica medals".

Rysdale’s name does not appear on the Department of Veteran’s Affairs - Vietnam Nominal Roll - It is accurate. His name also does not appear on the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) Association record of former members. His name also does not appear on any other documentation held at the National Archives of Australia for military service in any branch of the Australian Defence Force.

Rysdale is a pathetic individual who has placed himself out there in the public domain as a War Hero. He is nothing of the sort and should be shunned by the people in his home town of Tahmoor, New South Wales.

We sent Rysdale a request, giving him an opportunity to explain his extraordinary claims of heroic Vietnam War Army service, his enlistment and discharge dates, Army service number and his Unit.

He replied stating that - "I have spoken with the reporter at the advertiser and onformed (sic) her of my opinion on this. You dont know me and never will. You think that in this particular instance you are doing the right thing. I agree with what you do is great but not this time. I am not happy to continue this as per your demands and and have resigned from the Anzac committee. All this has done is cause me the utmost pain. Please talk with Ashley and she will be happy to discuss this with you". Regards Alex Rysdale

Any pain being suffered by Rysdale, is due the the fact that he knows that he has been well and truly caught out as a military imposter and valour thief..

Rysdale has committed an offence under the provisions of the Defence Act 1903 Part V11, Section 80A - Falsely representing himself to be a returned soldier.

DEFENCE ACT 1903 (EXTRACTS) The following extracts from the Defence Act 1903 apply to honours and awards:

80A Falsely representing to be returned soldier, sailor or airman

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if: (a) the person represents himself or herself to be a returned soldier, sailor or airman; and (b) the representation is false.

Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

ANZMI have notified the local authorities.

The last we heard, the Wollondilly Advertiser is publishing an update of the original story shortly.